


Silver Ring

by Maaitaiyou



Series: Silver Ring of 愛 [1]
Category: Arashi (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Fairy Tale, Cinderella Elements, M/M, True Love
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-12
Updated: 2020-01-30
Packaged: 2020-08-20 01:49:58
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 14,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20219800
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Maaitaiyou/pseuds/Maaitaiyou
Summary: We always read Cinderella married the prince and live happily ever after? Is it the truth? What if you realised it was a big lie? Two person who didnt know each other were tied in a marriage, how will they overcome their difference?And what if Arashi Members in Cinderella story? What will be their character?a Cinderella Story with not the same but a similar plot and a bit of their life issue after their marriage which was supposed to be happily ever after.





	1. Prologue: The Characters

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fic was inspire after talking to @sutekisauce on twitter about who will be which character in Cinderella story.  
Originally plan for One Shot but it became too long as I wrote and edit it.

_ **💙❤ His Majesty, King Satoshi and His Highness, Lord Sakurai, ** _

"Ou-sama" Sho called the man who is the King of the kingdom and his lover. King Satoshi is the ruler of Arashi Kingdom after his father passed away 3 years ago, living him and his brother, Crown Prince Kazunari. Although they were three years apart, King Satoshi had always been a protective brother to the Crown Prince. Their mother passed away while giving birth to the Crown Prince. Sakurai Sho belong to Lord Sakurai clan, the highest-ranking clan in Fūkei-shi, the capital of Arashi Kingdom and where the Imperial Palace located. Their clan was known as an intellectual who served as the King advisor since his ancestor. Both Sho and Satoshi grown up together and since he was a kid, he had been told of his responsibility to be Satoshi advisor when he became their kingdom ruler and someone who should always be willing to die for the King. For Sho, his eyes only for his King and so his heart although Satoshi never said any words of love to him before.

Their intimate relationship had started since they were teenagers till Satoshi became the Crown Prince and was married to a Princess from another Kingdom. He was devastated but as he had always known he was just a subject for his King and his loyalty only for him. Unfortunately, just like the queen, the Crown Princess passed away as soon as she gave birth to a prince. Satoshi was left in despair not because of his wife death but because of the rumour that his brother is a curse to the Royal Family. That was when their relationship started again because Sho can't bear to leave him alone in the sadness when he knows how much Satoshi loves his brother. He still remembers how Satoshi came to his room crying how much he missed Sho and confessed his love to him.

* * *

**_4 years ago,_**

"Ouji-sama" Sho was surprised to see the Crown Prince in his room. His eyes were red and swollen showing he had just finished crying which pained his heart. Forgotten that he was only his advisor, he hugged the man that he had always love from the bottom of his heart. "I missed you, Sakurai-kun" once again he was surprised by his Crown Prince words. It was the first he ever heard him said it. "Ouji-sama" that’s the only word that came out from his mouth. He was speechless wondering if this was a dream. "I've always love you Sakurai-kun, but as the Crown Prince and the future King, I know it was my responsibility to continue the royal lineage that was why I kept the love in my heart because I know it will hurt you more if you know I felt the same but now I don’t want to keep it anymore because I want you to be by my side, I need you because you are my strength and I can never imagine my life without you." 

Tears started to fall, Sho never expected he will get to hear the confession from his Crown Prince, "my heart and my life are only for you, Ouji-sama" Sho answered sincerely from his heart. "I'm Satoshi for you" Satoshi wiped his tears with his thumb. He claimed the taller guy lips, kissing him passionately to convey his sincere love. "I love you Sakurai-kun" "called me Sho" "I love you Sho" "I love you too Satoshi". Although they were officially a couple, they had to keep their relation in secret, although their Kingdom allowed same sex marriage, no male had ever been allowed to be the Prince Consort, once Satoshi became the King, he create a new rule that allowed a guy to be a Prince Consort and announced Sho as the first Prince Consort. Sho was awarded the title of His Highness Lord Sakurai as the Prince Consort of His Majesty, King Satoshi. 

* * *

Seeing Satoshi being rough in their sex, he knows, his love was frustrated. Sho hugged his love from his back. "Do I hurt you?" Satoshi asked, "No! I love every moment of it" Sho didn’t lie, although Satoshi was rough, but he always make sure Sho was not hurt. "Do they talk about Crown Prince Kazunari marriage again?" Sho asked although he knows the answer. "I don’t want to force him to marry someone who is not his choice like me, I want him to be happy with the one he loves. Since the rumour about him in the royal family, he was always moody and shut himself from the world outside of the Imperial Palace. Forcing him to marry someone he didn’t love will only brought him more sadness and I don’t want that" Sho turned his love to face him and hugged him. "Don't worry, I will talk to the Crown Prince tomorrow, for now you should sleep and have a good rest" the King obediently listen to his consort but was surprised when his consort getting ready to leave the room instead of lying back on their bed with him. "I'm going to our son's room, I'm supposed to visit him earlier if you didn’t pull me to bed as soon as you came back" Satoshi smiled and stand up to follow his love to his son, Prince Yuri's room. 

_ **💛 Crown Prince Kazunari** _

People may be jealous of his position as a Crown Prince, but he led such a lonely life, he had no friends not even an advisor because he didn’t want it. Since he was a kid, his brother, the King of Arashi Kingdom and his Prince Consort were the one who took care of him. His only friend is his four years old nephew, Prince Yuri who will be crown as the Crown Prince after his coming of age and he can’t wait for it to happen. He loves his nephew so much because both had the same fate. Both their mothers passed away while giving a new life to them.

Although his brother, King Satoshi repeatedly said it was not his fault, Crown Prince Kazunari can't help to feel what others said was true. He was the curse of the royal family and he caused his nephew, Prince Yuri to face the same fate as him. Since then no king from other country willing to marry their princess of to his brother, scared of their life because of the curse. However, it was a happy news for his brother who had always been in love with his advisor. He knows his brother had to marry the princess because of an heir but his brother was never happy like he is now with Lord Sakurai. 

He knows, there was a talk of his marriage and how the ministers had pressurized his brother to get him married. He was surprised how contradict a human can be, at first, they blamed him as the curse of the Royal Family and now they asked him to get married to end the curse. They had named a few princesses from neighbouring kingdom as his suitor, but he was never interested, and his brother had been protecting him saying he supposed to marry the one he loves instead of the one who was arranged for him because that is the real happiness. There is someone whom he loves but he is not sure where to find him, the mystery guy whom he met 4 years ago.

He was so devastated when they called him the curse and decided to run away from their Imperial Palace, but he was lost in the jungle. It was when he met him, but he knows neither his name nor his look because the guy wore a mask. He left as soon as they reached the Imperial Palace and they never met again. People may think he was crazy, but he fell for that guy eyes, his eyes full of excitement but also sadness behind it and he can’t forget how sad that eyes were as he left. 

_ **💜 Jun aka Junella aka Lord Matsumoto ** _ ** _Jr_ **

Jun look at the Imperial Palace from the window of his tower house. It was the only space for him in that house although it was his own house. This capital was not his original land, but his parents came here after they eloped to get married. Jun still remember how his mother always told him stories about his late father, how much he loved her that his father left his rich family to marry his mother who is a daughter of the family’s servant. His father was a good merchant and they lead a happy life. Jun didn’t have much memories of his father because he died when he was young when the ship, he board during his business trip was attacked by pirates. Only his parents photo made him remember how his father look like. His mother then marries his step-father, Lord Higashiyama who is his father best friend so Jun will never be lack of a father affection.

Things was well till his mother passed away, all his property was taken over by his step father who claimed his mother left everything to him because Jun was a rebellious child so not a single penny left for him. Everyone in town believe his stepfather's words except for those who work for the family, but no one dare to go against his stepfather. His step father had an adopted son, Toma, who is his illegitimate son with one of his servants. Jun only knows the truth after his mother passed away. It was then when his life as a servant in his house started. His step brother called him Junella because he is always dirty just like Cinderella. 

Every night, when everyone went to sleep, he will sneak out to the forest to practice his martial arts to prepare himself when it was time for him to fight his stepfather and took back his family property because he knows there was no way his mother will leave his father's wealth to that man. He always wore a mask to avoid being recognized and it was during one of those night, 4 years ago, when he met him lost in the darkness of the jungle.

From his attire Jun knows he was not a commoner, but he never expected the small size guy is the cursed prince. Jun heard a lot of stories about him in the market when his sister in law, the Crown Princess died while giving birth like the late queen. At first the prince was hostile towards Jun, acting almighty with his proud attitude and smug face. Jun almost left him alone there but when he saw the sadness in his eyes as if reflecting his own emotion made him weak. The prince slowly warmed up to him when the prince realized Jun was the only one who can help him out from that jungle. He was almost dead bitten by the tiger if not because of Jun. 

For the first time, Jun felt he was not useless because there was someone who relied on him. His heart flutters but he knows their position were like the sky and the earth, so he left as soon as the Crown Prince reached the big gate to the Imperial Palace without giving his name. He wanted to forget but the image of the prince face and his sad eyes never left his mind but now with the rumours that the Crown Prince will get married soon, Jun knows it was time for him to forget about the Crown Prince although it won’t be easy. 

💚 **_Aiba Masaki the Love Fairy_**

He is known as a fairy who is full of love & happiness. After Hina, the grim reaper who in charge of taking the life of young women as per stated in their destiny, he will be in charge to bring them to the heaven and look after their children on earth. He had been looking after both Jun and Kazunari since the moment their mother left their side. For normal people, they might think Kazunari life is better since he has a family who love him and born in to a royal while Jun is more pitiful being a slave in his own house. 

As a fairy he saw both had similar pain. Jun might be had a hard life now, but he had enjoyed half of his life in his mother's warmth and his step father during the time although he may be a fake. The pain that he had and the hardship that he faces now had made him grown up to be a strong young man.

Kazunari may be love by his family and rich but he is a lonely child who had never felt the warmth of a mother. Being called as the curse of the family and the cause for his nephew to have the same fate as him only caused a big scar in his heart that made him shut himself in his own world that only consisted of him and his family members. 

A lonely child with scars and a child who learnt about life from his hardship is a good match, that was the reason why he let them meet at the jungle, but he separated them because he knows it was not the right time for them to be together yet at that moment. But now, it was time for them to meet so they can be each other strength to live with happiness in their life, but living happily ever after was a fairy-tale biggest lie because there are no couple who never fight, both Jun and Kazunari will argue and fight too giving the difference in their character but that argument will help them to be closer and treasure their love better. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> My first fic with totally different pairing from my ship and without Aiba as the main lead.  
So I'm sorry if it didn't meet your expectation. Will update the next chapter soon after I finished edit it


	2. Chapter 1: "it is the right time for you to get married"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It was time for them to look for the mystery guy for the Crown Prince

Chapter 1

"Ouji-sama" the Crown Prince turned to the voice who called and bowed politely in front of him. "I've told you not to bowed in front of me Ouji-sama" Sho was still not used to see the Crown Prince to bow in front of him, he can’t say anything when they were in formal occasion but not when they were in their private moments. "You are no longer an advisor who took care of me, but you are his Highness, Lord Sakurai the Prince Consort of his Majesty, the ruler of this kingdom which made you in higher position than me so I should pay my respect properly." Sho can’t argue because it was the truth. "I've told you if you don’t want me to follow the formality during the private moments, you should stop calling me Ouji-sama it's been three years and you should get used to it now" the Crown Prince pouted. 

He had asked Sho to call him Kazunari or Kazu just like his brother once Sho was appointed as the Prince Consort but Sho still can’t get used to it. "Alright! Kazu, I'm sorry ok, I won’t call you Oujisama again." The Crown Prince came closer to get his nephew and carried him in his arms. "So, you having fun with you father? You are so lucky to have two lovely fathers?" Kazunari's words pained his heart. "But you will always be my and Satoshi's first son" Sho replied. "When you are just two years older and my brother 3 years older than me?" Kazunari replied but went to hug the other when he saw the sadness in Sho's eyes. "Sorry! I know both of you always love me so much and I'm lucky two have 3 fathers" Sho laughed at his joke. 

After a while, Sho asked his butler to bring Prince Yuri back to play in his room. The little prince kiss both of their cheeks before leaving the Crown Prince room. 

"I'm glad it is you whom my brother chose because I can't imagine anyone else who can love him as much as you" he saw Sho smirked and he know that guy was going to tease him. "What?" He asked. 

"I don’t know my Kazu had grown up so much and knows how to flatter others and I'm seriously flattered" Sho replied. 

The Crown Prince pouted. "So, you came here to talk about my wedding?" He asked straight to the point. Sho just nodded. "Do they pressured your love so much that made you worry and came to see me?" The Crown Prince asked again. 

Sho know the issue was sensitive for the Crown Prince, "Kazu! You know both your brother and me don’t bother about them, but we seriously thought it is the right time for you to get married." He explained sincerely. 

"Do you want me to get married because you are tired taking care of me?" Sho was surprised with the Crown Prince question. 

He moved closer and hugged him tightly as if he was hugging his little son, "Kazu, if possible I've always want you to be in front of me so I can take care of you but just like your brother and me, you need to be with someone who was destined to be with you so you can feel the happiness and love in your life" they might be just two years apart, but Sho never lie when he said Kazu will always be his first son. 

"I'm happy with you, Satoshi and Yuri, all of you love me and I love you all too" Kazunari still not convince, "Yes we love you but our love to you is a parent love and it was different from my love to Satoshi. Our love is companion love and it is time for you to find your companion too" the Crown Prince fell into silence for a while. 

"Okay fine, I will agree to get married and both you and his Majesty can choose which one among the suitors is suitable for me" the Crown Prince answered after a moment of deep thought.

But Sho shook his head which confused him, "No! We won’t choose anyone for you, we want you to marry someone you really love not someone whom we arranged so of you have anyone in your heart, let me know and we will meet the family" the Crown Prince smiled before he asked again "Even if it was a guy?" 

Sho smiled back at him "Both me and Satoshi are guys, so I don’t think we have any rights to say no to you" and that reply made the Crown Prince grinning for ear to ear. He went to one of his closet drawers and took out a silver ring to show it to confused Sho.

Sho took the ring, it was a simple ring but when you look at it closely, the ring was of high quality and was customized. "Do you remember 4 years ago when I ran away from the palace? I was lost in the jungle and he save me. He gave me this ring before he left after he sent me back to the front gate" Sho didn’t reply but took a glass of water and drop the ring inside it which surprised the Crown Prince, he almost want to shout at him when he saw the silver turn to rose gold and there was a symbol behind the ring. 

"As expected," Sho look satisfied but the Crown Prince looks puzzled. "Most of the heir of a lord family will have one of this. It’s not a usual silver ring but a titanium mix of rose gold. The colour will change in water and the symbol will be visible. It was made to look like simple silver to help the heir to disguised themselves if they met with a group of bandits, but it will also help to identify who they are if there were lost but of course not everyone knows this fact unless you were a part of lord family. I have one too and it’s a pair, one is for my partner as a symbol of them being part of the family" Sho lifted up his ring finger but his silver ring looks more exclusive, "Sorry mine is a bit extravagant since we are the lord family who served the king" Sho blushed but he was not sure why he was embarrassed. 

"So, my brother has one too?" The Crown Prince asked, "Yes, he is wearing it as our couple ring" somehow it made the Crown Prince happy thinking he might not be the only one who thought their encounter was special to be given this precious gift. "So, with this we can find him?" Sho look at him confused. "What do you mean find him?" He asked. "We never meet again after that night" the Crown Prince reply left him speechless. 

"You mean you don’t know where he is now?" The Crown Prince nodded his head. 

"His name?" The Crown Prince shook his head. 

"His house?" He shook his head again.

"Well tell me at least you know how he looks like right" but Sho was surprised when the Crown Prince shook his head. 

"Eehhh!" "He wore a mask that night, so I only saw half of his face" Sho went to check the symbol again. "Are you sure you were lost in the jungle of Fūkei-shi?" Sho asked. "Yes! Why?" Sho showed him the symbol engraved on the ring. 

The symbol look made of few triangles which resemble a castle. "This is the symbol of Lord Matsumoto clan whom most of them are successful merchant and came from far east of our kingdom, in Yama prefecture. There are the richest merchant clan from Kansha City and to have that ring he must one of the direct bloodlines, but I've never heard of any Matsumoto clan stayed in capital." Sho tried to remember if he may miss but there was nothing but his face change when sudden realization came to his mind. 

The look on Sho's face was enough to tell the Crown Prince what was on his mind. "He may be the real Matsumoto or a bandit who stole the ring from the heir?" Sho just nodded his head. The Crown Prince know Sho was not wrong but the mysterious guy eyes told him he is not. "Don't worry Kazu, we will surely find him for you" that promised was enough to make him smile again. 

The king laughed when his consort told him the story which irritated the latter, "Your Majesty, instead of laughing, you should be worry, what if that guy is really a bandit and the Crown Prince loves him?" Satoshi stopped his laughed when Sho referred him as his Majesty, it showed the other was angry, "I'm sorry it was just typical of him to be troublesome even with his love" Satoshi went closer to his love and hugged him. "I am seriously worried Satoshi, this is his first love and he will be hurt if he is really a bad guy". 

Satoshi turned his love to face him, "I'm worry too but I know there is someone who worry about him more than I do and will make sure he is not hurt. Even if he was hurt, we will be here for him" Sho hugged his love, what Satoshi said was true. They will always be there for him. "Can I go there to find the guy?" Sho asked for permission, "On your own? You know it will take two days journey with the horse which I can’t allowed it even if it was for my brother" "but" Sho can’t continue to talk when Satoshi put his finger on his lips. 

"I know you've promised him to look for that guy, we will think of a way and now instead of talking about Kazu love, don’t you think it was time to talk about our love?" Sho blushed because he knows what he meant "Aren't you tired?" Sho asked, "No! When you are by my side" Satoshi kiss his lover cheek but instead of going to bed, his lover pulled him out of the room, "You know I can’t sleep without saying good night to my two sons" Satoshi smiled and followed his love to both prince room. Sho is a mother hen and he will be the perfect mother if he is a woman. 

The following day Sho disguised himself as a commoner and went to the market, there are a lot of merchant who came from Yama prefecture, who knows about Lord Matsumoto clan. He went to one of the Izakaya and saw two beautiful man were talking to each other at the next table, one of then dressed in nice attire showing he was rich while the other guy attire showed that he was a poor. They were busy talking to each other although there was a lot of eyes on them, a bit uncomfortable to see a poor guy eating in that place. It was something the King had been trying hard to do but it was not easy since there are such a big gap between the two caste. After a while, the poor guy left with omiyage that the rich guy bought for him. 

Sho eyes following him till the guy left the shop, he is so beautiful and even if he was poor, but if he has a good manner, Sho would want him to be with the Crown Prince. 

"He is beautiful right?" The guy whom speak with the beautiful man is now seating in front of him. 

"Aiba Masaki," he introduces himself. 

"Sho, you don’t seem to be a local?" Sho asked. 

"Yes! I came from far east prefecture and a frequent traveller." The guy name Aiba replied. 

"Is he someone you know? Both of you looks friendly" Sho asked. 

"Jun? Ah, he helps me during my first visit to Fūkei-shi. I was a bit lost what to do, where to go and almost lost all my money to a con man, fortunately, he heard our conversation, so I was saved" Sho felt guilty. 

"As the resident of Fūkei-shi, I'm sorry for your first bad experience." Sho apologized. 

"It's fine because I meet a nice resident like Jun who save me that day and you who apologised although it was not your fault" Aiba replied with his most sweet smile. 

"You said you are from far east prefecture, which city are you from?" Sho asked hoping he was from the place he hoped for. 

"I'm from Kansha-shi, the land of the rich merchants" Aiba replied jokingly but it was a fact that most of the best merchant came from there. 

Sho felt relieved to hear it. "It is land of the famous merchant" Aiba smiled when Sho agreed with him.

"You mean Matsumoto clan? They were famous to the whole kingdom, right? Even the daughter of the current clan leader is a good businesswoman" Aiba looks sad. 

"Daughter? Isn't the first child being a son?" Sho asked to find out more.

Aiba moved closer to him to whispered in his ears, "the son eloped to marry their servant’s daughter 25 years ago and never came back," Aiba then straighten his body back on the chair, "They are nice people who never look at status, it should be fine if she is a commoner but the daughter of their servant may be too much of a shock for the family."

"Anyone know where he is now?" Sho wondered if the guy whom the Crown Prince met may belong to the family. 

"Not sure, I just heard stories from elder family members that someone saw them with a son in Fūkei-shi long time ago, but when the family members came to search for them, they found nothing" Aiba looks disappointed. 

"It must be sad for the family" Aiba nodded and both decided to leave when they finished their food, Aiba bowed politely in front of him, "You are so kind, your highness, I hope you found what you are looking for and a clue for you, the ring was in pair and the chosen child have a birth mark of a crescent moon at the back of his right ear" Aiba said and left before Sho could replied him, lost in the crowd. 

The whole market was in uproar, because of the notice that was posted by the palace guard, there will be a Masquerade Ball to formally introduce the Crown Prince to the public. All bachelor and bachelorette in the kingdom were invited. 

Meanwhile in the palace, the Crown Prince wondered if this will be a good idea. "We can’t change it; all the invitations were already sent out" the king said. The Crown Prince keep walking around which made both His Majesty and His Highness giddy by just looking at it. "What if he never come?" The Crown Prince asked, "and What if he came?" Sho replied with a question and its frustrated him, Sho pulled him to seat between them, "For now we can only hope that he came so you can meet him again. We will continue to search for him till you meet again and from the information that I gathered, there might be a chance the grandson of the current clan leader in Fūkei-shi, so let not gave up hope before we try it" Sho tries to convince so as Satoshi. 

Toma make a fuss when the invitation arrived at their house. Both father and son were excited about it, started to plan what they should do to catch the king and prince attention. "I want to go too, isn’t all bachelor in this kingdom were invited" Toma laughed at him, "with that cloth? Keep on dreaming Junella". It's hurt to be laugh at, but he really wanted to go because he felt this party was held to find him. "Fine, I will let you go if you finish all your work and find something good to wear" Jun was happy to hear it and promised to finish all his job and get a new cloth for himself. "Daddy! You will really let him go?" Toma asked after Jun left to do his work, "I said IF he can finish his work Toma" finally understood what his father meant, they started to laugh again.

The party will be held in 3 days, but Jun found his work became more than usual. He looks around at the market while running his errand, but all the cloth was expensive and he can’t afford it, he hopes to make money by helping people at the market, but he had no time with the increase of work given by his stepfather. 

Will he be able to make it to the party?


	3. Chapter 2: “I’ve finally found you”

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they finally met again...

Chapter 2

The day finally came, and Jun had to let go his chance to go to the ball because he can’t find suitable attire to go. He knows it was their plan to stop him from going. He walks up the stairs lifelessly to his room. He looked out the window, looking at the Imperial Palace, his heart pained maybe this was a way of God showing him they aren't meant to be together. 

"So, are you thinking of giving up?" The familiar voice surprised him and the handsome guy with a wing on his back made him more confused. "Aiba-san, how, why, what?" He was too speechless to talk now. 

"I am Aiba Masaki, the fairy who was in charge to take care of you till you find your happiness, sorry for lying to you before?" Aiba showed him his sweet smile as always.

"But why and how you know me and here?" Jun was still confused with the whole situation. 

"We can talk later for now u need to be ready for the party or else you will be late," 

"But I can’t go like this?" Jun asked. 

"Oh! I need to get a horse for you" he pulled Jun to the window.

"What are you doing Aiba-san? Are you going to kill me?" Jun asked. But Aiba didn’t reply and pulled him out of the window. Before he knows it, they were flying down from his old tower room to earth and Aiba was busy looking for something. 

"What are you looking for Aiba-san?" Jun asked. "My wand" Aiba replied shortly which made Jun laughed. 

"It's in your hand" Aiba slap his fore head when he realised, he was being clumsy again.

Slowly he points to the stone horse at the fountain and said his spell. "Warukunai nemuranai inai kara karada" and slowly the horse stone moved and turned into a beautiful white horse. 

"Ok! You should leave now or else you will be late." Aiba told Jun to ride the horse and realised Jun was still in his Dirty clothes. 

Once again, he apologised for being clumsy and once again said his spell while his hand pointing the wand to Jun "Warukunai nemuranai inai kara karada" his clothes change, and Jun became a handsome prince. 

"You have to be home before midnight, because the Magic hours will end once the clock strike to 12." Aiba told him.

Instead of climbing on to the horse, Jun was still freezing at his spot looking at the masked on his hand. "What's wrong Jun?" Aiba asked.

"I met him wearing the old mask, will he recognize me with this mask?" Jun asked. 

The fairy went closer and patted his shoulder, "he organized this ball to find you and if his love is sincere, he will be able to recognize your beautiful eyes. So, you have to leave now if you don’t want to be late" Jun smiled and hop on to his horse. 

"Don't worry, both of you will find your happiness soon" Aiba waved his hand till Jun was out of his sight before vanished to the thin air.

The Imperial Palace was lit up with thousands of neon’s lights. The noise of the music can be heard from outside and beautiful bachelor and bachelorette alighting from carriages. Jun wonder if the Crown Prince will be able to see him among the hundreds of them. His eyes stop at a carriage that have a similar symbol like his ring. He was curious but now he was more anxious to meet the Crown Prince.

The Crown Prince was getting tired and bored being introduced to one by one bachelors and bachelorettes from the noble families. He wanted to run away from it, but both his Majesty and his Highness had been signalling him to be patient and not to give up. Both his Majesty and his Highness had met up with the head of Matsumoto clan who came with his daughter and granddaughter personally before the party. They had invited them to come earlier to talk privately. 

They had confirmed indeed the ring belong to his missing son who ran away from home to marry their servant daughter, indeed the ring was in pair. The old man seems to be regretted his act which caused him to lose his son and maybe it was his punishment that he had no male descendant born to their family till now. 

The last news he received from his son when his grandson was born but he was not told where they live, and the letter was passed by a foreign merchant who came to Kansha-shi. According to the letter, it was sent to inform the family of the existence of their son and if anything should happen to him and his wife, he hoped the family could forgive them and take care of their son who is not guilty of their parents love. 

They had sent people to search for them to the whole kingdom, but unable to find them. When asked if there is any characteristic which will make him recognize his grandson, he said the boy should have a crescent moon birthmark behind his right ears, exactly as per mentioned by Aiba which made Sho curious of Aiba real identity. 

Both families were anxious if the man will come especially for Matsumoto family, even if he is just a bandit who stole the ring, they still wanted to meet him as he might lead them to a clue to find their family. The Crown Prince wanted to give when the que was almost end but the eyes that he was looking for was not there. 

It was when his eyes caught a figure moving around endlessly as if he was lost of where to go. The Crown Prince ran to him and as he was nearer, he confirmed it was the figure that he saw that night under the moon light in the jungle. The man was surprised when his wrist was gripped but once he saw it was the Crown Prince, he bowed to him politely. 

The Crown Prince was almost sure he was the one because the guy recognized him before he even introduces himself. He is the only one who is not wearing any mask because no one had ever seen him before since he was always in the Imperial Palace, even if he went out to market with Sho it was always on disguise as a commoner, so no one know he was the Crown Prince unless they met before. Unlike that night he was dress flamboyantly like a prince. 

His purple mask with the gold thread made him look perfect as if it was tailored for him but the Crown Prince need to confirm it was the guy whom he longed for. "Lift your head and look at me" the Crown Prince commanded and once their eyes met, there was no doubt he was the one. "You came? I've been waiting for you" the Crown Prince pulled him to the dance floor and started to dance to the music played by the royal musician. 

They were having much fun dancing do the music, their swift movement perfectly in sync as if they had been dancing to the song for their whole life. The Crown Prince then brought him out to their garden where they are enjoying the view of the star’s constellations, "Thank you for coming tonight" the Crown Prince said. 

"I thought you had forgotten about me" Jun never think they will ever meet again. 

"I've never forgot about you since that night, but I don't know how to find you" it was a dream come true for the Crown Prince to be able to meet him again. 

"Even when you don’t know how I look? What if I'm just hiding my ugly face behind this?" The Crown Prince laughed. 

"As long you have the beautiful eyes, it was enough for me." The Crown Prince replied. Jun had too much fun that he forgot Aiba order till he heard the clock sound when he was about to take off his mask to show the Crown Prince his face. 

"It's midnight," Jun jumped to his feet to leave. "Yes! But why?" The Crown Prince started to panic when he saw they guy moving away from him. "Sorry! I have to go now" and Jun ran towards his horse.

"Wait I didn’t even know your name and how you look like? How I'm gonna look for you?" But Jun continue running even when the Crown Prince shouted to close the gate it was too late, Jun was out of the Imperial Palace in a split second, he was too fast for the Crown Prince to catch him. 

Jun managed to reach his house before the magic hour end. The horse turned back to the stone horse of their house fountain and he was back to the poor who is a servant in his own house. He wondered if his masked that he dropped were also gone. He was crying at his fate when someone pat his head. When he looked up it was the fairy. "You give me a chance to meet him, but I messed it up now I will never meet him again". 

Jun regret so much if only he told the prince his name earlier but what will be different? He is just a servant in the house. "Don't worry Jun, if both of you are meant to be together, there will be a way for you to meet again" in a split second, the fairy teleported them to Jun's room when he heard Jun's stepfather carriage reaching nearer and Jun fell asleep in tears. 

The Crown Prince is not a morning person and it was really irritating for him to be woken up early in the morning especially after a night filled with tears. He was not sure what went wrong that he just left him. Lord Matsumoto family was disappointed too and Sho had promised them to keep them informed if there will be any news about their heir. "Wake up Kazunari, if you really love him, we need to find him to know the truth" Satoshi woke his little brother up although he himself was still sleepy and was forced to wake up. 

"Maybe he just doesn’t like me, I'm ugly" the Crown Prince reply. "If he thought you were ugly, he won't come last night. It was not the first time he saw you" Sho replied. 

The Crown Prince was irritated "Then tell me what is your plan to find him? I didn’t even know his name or his look and what if he ran away from me again?" The Crown Prince was angry because he thought both his brother and his consort were not making any sense right now. 

Sho passed him the notice which had been sent to all household with a bachelor in Fūkei-shi. The photo of the mask and the silver ring were also drawn on it. "We will start with the capital if he was not here then we will look at other prefecture. We will do our best to look for him." Sho said. “Will you accept him even if he is just a commoner?” the Crown Prince asked. “As long he had a good manner with beautiful heart and will make you happy, we will love him to be part of our family.” The King assured him. The Crown Prince finally gave up and woke up to get ready. Sho will be following him to look for his mystery guy.

It was late evening, and this was the last house with bachelor in Fūkei-shi. Sho had been encouraging him not to give up in their search. The house or more correctly the mansion was built with a tower like a mini castle in western countries. It was big with a beautiful garden, but it was deep at the end of the road which made the Crown Prince curious, he never imagines such house exist in his kingdom so as Sho. “Whose house is this?” the Crown Prince asked, “According to the list it was Lord Higashiyama, a merchant and a single father of two sons” Sho replied. Lord Higashiyama welcome them when they reached.

After a cup of coffee, he called his son to try the ring and wore the mask but only Toma was around he had sent Jun to run for the errand to avoid him from trying. “According to you family register, you had two sons?” Sho asked. “I’m sorry your Highness, he was not in the city now and he didn’t even attend the party last night.” After the explanation, Toma tried the ring and he didn’t fit it, so Crown Prince didn’t allow him to try the mask because he knows Toma is not the one he was looking for. 

When they were saying their farewell to leave the house, the front door suddenly opened and a beautiful man that Sho had seen at the market appeared with Aiba. “Aiba-san” Sho recognized the slim guy instantly and inform the Crown Prince, they had met in the market while he went to search for information. “The other son is here” Aiba said. Now Jun realised why his step father had sent him out of the house to run errand to another village. 

“I’m sorry, there must be a mistake, he is not my son, my son wont dressed shabbily like this?” pointing to Jun in his old clothe. “He is lying, he is the son of this family who was treated like a servant by that man” one of their servants said. He and the others had enough and can’t bear to see Jun suffer any longer. Both His Highness and the Crown Prince were furious to know, there was such person in their kingdom.

“Let him try the mask” the Crown Prince commanded. Usually he will ask the bachelors to try the ring first and if its fit then only he will have allowed them to try the mask. It was the opposite this time because when their eyes met, the Crown Prince was sure he was the one he was looking for and he was right when he saw the other wore the mask. It was the same eyes and this time the ring will fit but the butler accidentally drops the ring when Toma purposely kick his leg. 

“I have the pair of the ring which belong to my mother” Jun lift his right hand and showed the silver ring in his right pinky finger. Sho asked the ring from him and requested the servant to bring him a glass of water. The other ring changed its colour and showed the same symbol when Sho dropped it in to the water which surprised the father and his two sons. 

With Aiba little magic, the butler found the ring and let Jun tried it. It fit perfectly as if it was personalised for him. The Crown Prince ran to hug him, “I’ve finally found you” Jun wiped the Crown Prince tears with him thumb. “Thank You for finding me and I will never leave you again” Jun claimed his love lips, he is glad to finally find his happiness and followed them back to the Imperial Palace. 💛💜

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes its the end but unlike Cinderella, the last few chapters will be focusing on problem between matsumiya while adapting to each other followed by last chapter dedicated for Yama. I have to warn you some part of it may not make sense logically to human nature but since it is a fantasy, I wanted to have a bit fun with my imagination. I hopes you enjoyed the story and as usual, comments are very much welcome to help me improve in my writing. ✌🤞😉


	4. Chapter 3 "Living happily ever after is a lie?"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Life after the wedding is not as smooth as what the Crown Prince and Jun thinks. They started to drift apart while trying to compromise their difference.

The wedding went well, and Jun was glad to finally meet his family. The ring and the mark along with the family photo in Jun's keep had confirmed he indeed the heir of Matsumoto Clan. His maternal grandfather passed away few years after his parents eloped, but his grandmother was still well and treated as a family member instead of the household main. She had been the one who took care of his cousins when they were born. His paternal grandfather, Lord Matsumoto was the happiest people to meet him and the old man also apologised to him for being the main reason of his hard life. His stubbornness to accept Jun's parents love made them ran away from the family. He showed Jun the last letter he received from his father. Its broke Jun's heart because it was written when his father was on his last trip which he never came back. As if his father had known he will never able to go back to his family again. 

The King had ordered Jun's stepfather and stepbrother to be arrested for mistreating and falsifying Jun's mum will to take over the inheritance. Jun found out the reason why his step father married his mum was to save himself and his son from dying after he lost everything in his business. His mum agreed to the marriage, so Jun won’t be lonely without a father's love and because she pitied Toma who was still so young at that time. She didn’t want him to grow up in streets. Just like his mum, Jun didn’t want the two men to be left in streets although they didn’t share the same blood. Although he was mistreated, Jun was still allowed to stay in a house that sheltered him from hot son and rain. He asked for the king to forgive them because they are still his family who he stayed with after his mother death. 

The King granted his wish with a few conditions. Toma was sent to work with Matsumoto Clan, so he can learn to be a businessman and his progress will be reported directly to the King. Any misconduct won’t be forgiven, and he will be punished. His stepfather can continue his business as Jun's representative and 60% of the profit will be given to Jun because all the business was originally belonging to Jun. All this while it was Jun who ran it while his step fathers just gave orders and took all the profit for himself and Jun was paid lesser than the servant in their house. Lastly, the step father could stay in their mansion with a rent paid to Jun annually. 

As much as they want him to come back, they know Jun now belong to the Royal family. Lord Matsumoto was happy and content to finally found his missing grandson and were happy for Jun to be part of the Royal family. Jun promised to visit them often with the Crown Prince whenever the times allows. 

Just like Sho, Jun was appointed as the Royal Consort and Crown Prince advisor. He was named as Royal Consort, Lord Matsumoto. The King had announced that Crown Prince Kazunari will continue be the Crown Prince even after Prince Yuri coming of age and will be the first in line to become the king after him while Prince Yuri will be second in line to the throne after his uncle. Unlike before, Crown Prince is more active in his duty and oversees the Royal Treasury. Things looks fine and everything were well between them but behind the close door, both Jun and Kazu realised, "live happily ever after" was a big lie and they wonder if their marriage was a big mistake.

If they were asked about love, yes, they can feel the deep feeling between them, but it was hard for them to get along well when both are too different from each other. The Crown Prince may be homely person, but his tongue is poisonous while the Royal Consort is a fussy perfectionist whom although had a hot tempered but is a dork at times. A lot of times they argued and not talking to each other. Both His Majesty and His Highness started to realise the issue between them but till the couple opened their mouth, they won’t interfere. 

Jun tiptoed into his dark bedroom. The Crown Prince was deep asleep, and he didn’t want to wake him up. They had been having a lot of arguments lately, but Jun realised he was partly at fault. He was the Crown Prince advisor, but he was always back later than the prince because he needs to make sure everything was done perfectly, and he knows how much his husband was unhappy about it. Being the servant of his step father who made him run errand and being scolded when things done half-heartedly made him wanted perfection more than anything else to avoid being scolded or punished by going to sleep in hunger after the long journey. Due to that, he grown up to be a perfectionist when it comes to his work. 

He slipped in quietly to their bed and tried to hug his love but was pushed away. His love is awake, and he was hurt. Jun felt guilty when saw the tears stain in his husband eyes. "Kazu, I'm sorry, please don’t be angry my prince" Jun tried to persuade him nicely. "Stop apologising if you didn’t mean it" the Crown Prince pulled their blanket on top of his head and went to sleep. He was too hurt by the guy whom he loves and started to doubt his decision to marry so soon. Maybe they should have dated and get to know each other well before deciding if he is the right one. 

He understood Jun is someone who works diligently and always ensure he completes whatever task were given to him. Everyone was complimenting him, and it made Kazu proud to have him by his side. He was thankful because Jun was by his side, he managed to learn to be more responsible and did his duty as the Crown Prince of the kingdom better than before when he prefers to shut himself in his own world. But he can’t stand his perfectionist which always made him the last to leave his work and nagging even in their daily life routine. Jun was too detailed and meticulous while Kazu is opposite of him. It’s good to be perfect but too much is the same as not enough and it can be tiring for those around him. Kazu getting more lonelier than before and what is the point of being married if it were his brothers and nephew who are the ones that accompanied him while he is having dinner and spent most of the time with him. He wanted to be pampered like Sho by his love. He wanted to spend their precious private time alone just like how his brother spent his free times with his family, but Jun was too busy to make sure his works were perfect. 

It’s been three days since Kazu gave him a silent treatment. Apart from while they are working, not a single word out from his mouth. He was treated as invisible during breakfast and dinner with the family although Jun tried to end his work at the same time, but it doesn’t help to ease his love anger and it drove his patience to the maximum limit. He loves him so much, but he can't be patience anymore. He would not need to finish his work late if the Crown Prince did his job well. They would spend time nicely together if the Crown Prince wanted to leave the palace when they had free time, but the Crown Prince prefer to stay in the palace. Yes, he knows he is such a naggy, but he can’t stand to see a mess. Seeing the Crown Prince didn’t care about his appearance made him frustrated. It was not he wanted his husband to be flashy of his royal status, but Jun want him to at least care how he presents himself among the ministers and when the Crown Prince meet the public. All he did were for the Crown Prince own good, but it was not appreciated. 

As much as the elder couple wanted to ignore it, they can't close their eyes when both started to ignore each other. Although both still do their work well but apart from working, both are acting like a stranger and there were few times when Jun was seen sleeping in the Crown Prince study room. It will be just matter of time before a rumour about their relationship started and seeing how competent Jun is, the blame will be on Crown Prince. Both his Majesty and his Highness were fully aware, how the Crown Prince behaviour made the situation worst, but they believe both were at faults since both are stubborn to compromise to each other. 

"Thank You" the king kiss his love cheek which made his love confuse amid their discussion to solve the younger couple issue. "Thank you for?" The Prince Consort askes. 

"Seeing at both Kazunari and Jun, I've realised how lucky I am to have you by my side. We grow up together, know each other well. Although we had our difference, but you always manage to find a way to compromise and we manage to solve the issue soon." Sho blushed hearing the praised from his love. 

"We manage to solve it because I have a wonderful king who always listen to his peoples" Satoshi smiled at the reply and claimed his lovers’ lips to a passionate kiss. Yes, he is the lucky man to have Sho by his side.

It was a day without any official duty for the Crown Prince, so Jun went to practice his fighting skill with Sho. Things were still bad between him and the Crown Prince. Jun was scared if he is going to lose his love although he knows divorce is a Taboo for a Royal Family, but he didn’t want to lead a loveless marriage life. Sho realised how the problem between them affecting Jun's concentration. Jun's mind was wondering, and he made a lot of mistake during their sword practice and he would have died if it was a real battle. Even now he was deep in his thought that he didn’t realized Sho had been standing and looking at him for sometimes. 

Jun was surprised when he felt someone touch his shoulder and he almost fight the guy if he didn’t recognize the other's voice. He was always anxious when he was approached from the back especially now when he didn’t even remember where he was right now. "I'm sorry your Highness, my mind was somewhere else" Sho just smile and sat beside him under the tree. The hot sun made it hard for them to continue practicing. 

"Jun! When things getting harder, it is fine for you to ask for help. He may be the Crown Prince, but he is still a human being who is not perfect especially for someone like Kazu who used to shut himself within the palace wall away from outside world. There are a lot of things he may not know or aware how harsh life can be" from Sho words, Jun knows the other aware of their problems although neither of them ever said anything.

"Is the Majesty also aware of this? Did the Crown Prince said anything?" Jun asked. 

"We took care of Kazu since he was born, we didn’t need him to spell it out to know if he had any problems and seeing both of you not talking, we know there is a problem between you" Jun didn’t dare to look at Sho's eyes because he knows he had let them down when he had promised Sho that he will take a good care of the Crown Prince when he married him. 

"I'm sorry your Highness I've let you down" Jun bowed politely in front of Sho. 

"Jun, you never let us me down even his Majesty agreed with me. We know it won’t be easy for two persons to get along well even if you were madly in love especially when both of you have zero knowledge about each other." Sho knows the problem not only lies with Jun.

"But you and his Majesty get along so well. I'm jealous and I want to be like that with the Crown Prince." Sho laughed at Jun's word. 

"We had known each other since I had my memory but that doesn’t mean we didn’t fight, there are times when I was angry with him and likewise when he was angry with me, but since we know each other well, we manage to solve it as soon as we went to bed and woke up the next day smiling at each other. Both you and Kazu still need to know more about each other to be like us and we are here to help you but if you really love him"

Jun nodded his head "Yes I really love him, and I want to be with him till the end of my life." Sho smiled at him and Jun explained to him all the issues they had that lead to their cold war. 

"Both of you are just too stubborn, I will talk to his Majesty and we will try to help you because I know Kazu also love you so much although he said all the hate words to you and I have to apologise to you because I'm partly at fault for spoiling that little brat" Jun laughed and was relieved to hear Sho's comforting words.

While they had their practice, the two royal brothers having their fun playing with Prince Yuri in the Palace Garden. "Didn't you enjoyed it whenever we sneak out of the place?" The king asked his only brother. Although the Crown Prince is married, he still behaves like a pampered small child which he knows that it was partly his fault for pampering him too much. 

"Yes, I enjoyed it because I feel safe when niisan and Sho-chan around so I can enjoy myself" the Crown Prince replied. 

"And why can't you feel the same with Jun when he is the man that you love? I've seen his fighting skills and I can say he is good to protect you" the king question made him speechless. Yes, Jun is an excellent fighter who can protect him, but he is too lazy to go out of the palace apart from his official duty as the Crown Prince. Once a while is fine but few times a week is a bit hard even once a week is troublesome for him. 

"Kazu, you may use to stay within the palace wall, but Jun is not. He used to run around and mix around with others. But after he became part of our family there are a lot of things, he needs to sacrifice including having his free life so if once a week he wanted to bring you out, I don’t think there is anything wrong with it" 

"But niisan, it was not only that, he is always back late too meticulous with his work, nagging at me about my cloth and how I didn’t learn to fight, it was really frustrating" the king shaking his head looking at his brother childish attitude. Although both were at fault, he much aware that his brother childishness made things worst between them.

"Kazu! It will take time for him to fully adapt to palace life. I didn’t see any wrong in what he asked you to do because it is for your own good although maybe his way is not right for you but Kazu, you have to remember, both me and Sho is your family so no matter what you did we will still go back to the same family but Jun is a stranger who came to be part of our family. Just like how he came, he had a choice to leave and I don’t want you to regret it one day. He may love you a lot now but if you keep stepping on his ego, no guy can be patience with it. You may be the Crown Prince but in your family he your husband who leads you and he deserve to be respected" his brother long nag left him speechless, what if Jun really left can he live without him?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've decided to make it longer with more Matsumiya interactions


	5. Chapter 4:  "I'm sorry for being childish and egoistic"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When they had to be separated, will the Crown Prince hold on to his pride?

Kazu was speechless, he understood the situation but why Jun had to go, and he gladly accepted it leaving him alone by himself in the palace. "Niisan, can't you send someone else? Why must it be my husband?" The Crown Prince asked. The King just look at him and went to his study room where Jun was waiting for him to discuss their undercover plan leaving him and his brother in law alone. The Crown Prince look at his brother in law with a frustrated face. "Shonii?" 

"I'm sorry Kazu, it was decided, and he will leave tomorrow with Takizawa" The Prince Consort replied. They had expected the Crown Prince reaction, that was why they informed Jun about the mission separately. It was true that Jun is the right person for the task because of his experience while running errand for his step father before, made him know the trade well so it will be easier for him to go undercover to check the counter fake notes which started to flow in the most southern part of the kingdom, in Mahongo Prefecture. They had been receiving reports about it for past few months and from their early investigation it was true that happened, but they were unable to prove the main source of it. They had their suspicions of the syndicate that lead the illegal operations, but the suspect was moving slyly, and they were unable to find definite proof. Jun will be sent as undercover along with Takizawa Hideaki, one of the top Royal Guards as two best friends who travelled to look for jobs.

At first, Jun was also reluctant to go but agreed when he was convinced this may be good to help his relationship with the Crown Prince. "But still it was dangerous and to think he was readily agreed to it by leaving me alone here, I wondered if he really loves me?" The Crown Prince kept whining which made his brother in law frown. "What?" The Crown Prince asked. "I should ask you back the same question Ouji-sama, do you really love him? Seeing how you ignored him for the past 10 days, I can’t understand why you are making noise now when you should be happy since you don't need to avoid him" the Crown Prince was speechless with his brother in law answer. He unable to answer him because he was egoistic. At first, he just wanted to show his anger but when Jun started to react the same way it made him angrier. He missed his husband's touch, but he was to egoist to apologise first. Did Jun hate him now? That was why he agree to leave him? 

"Kazu, instead of whining here with me, why don’t you have a good time with him. Forget your ego and apologise to him if you don’t want to let him go in sadness and we never know how long it will take to complete the mission and for him to come back." Sho left the Crown Prince alone so the other can think. It is time for the Crown Prince to learn to be more responsible with his action. Kazu was speechless, he can’t imagine his life without Jun. He had taken Jun patience for granted. Although, he ignored him, Jun is still there by his side, they still sleep in the same room but now he will be gone, and no one know for how long. Of all the guards, it will be Takizawa who will accompany him, Kazu had caught him stealing glance at Jun for few times. Takizawa is much more handsome than him, what if Jun fell for him while they are together and Kazu is far away from Jun? With a heavy heart and heavy steps, the Crown Prince walked to his room.

The King stop him from leaving after their discussion, so Takizawa left them to speak alone. "Jun, I'm sorry to ask you to go when there are issues between you and the Crown Prince. My brother, he is too pampered and get lonely easily. Both Me and Sho are always by his side because we don’t want him to be left alone and without us realising it, we turned him into a spoiled brat. I hope this separation will make both of you realised your true feelings to each other." The King said and left the room, but he turned back because there was something he forgot to tell. "Hmm, if you think he was happy to hear about your leaving, you are absolutely wrong because he had been whining and throwing tantrum like a small child since I told him about it. So, I hope both of you will have a good time tonight" The king smirked and left. Jun wondered if the king was saying the truth, the Crown Prince must be happy to see him leave. 

His husband was resting at his favourite chaise when Jun came to their room. It will be their last night before he left for his mission tomorrow. He wanted them to spend the night with full of love but the looks on the Crown Prince told him the opposite. Without a word, he was given a glass of grape juice and saw his husband move to lie down on their bed with his back-facing Jun. Jun slipped in their bed after changing to his pyjama facing the other side of the room. Just like past few nights, only silence with their back facing each other which made Jun sad till he heard the Crown Prince voice. 

"You hated me because I ignored you, you are leaving because you don’t love me anymore" the Crown Prince said and followed by his soft sobs which surprised Jun. He turned his body and turned his husband to look at him before embraced him tightly in his arms. The Crown Prince cried harder as soon as he was in his husband's arms. 

"How could I hate you Kazu when I love you more than my own life. I agree to go because it is for our country, our people and most importantly for you, I want to be deserved to be by your side" Jun hugged him tighter, he really missed his love. 

"I'm sorry, Jun-chan, I'm sorry for being childish and egoistic, I'm sorry for hurting you. I love you so much and I don’t want to be separated from you" Jun's heart aching, its pained to leave his love but it was his responsibility. 

"I'm sorry too Kazu, I'm sorry for being too stubborn. I promised to work hard and finish my mission fast so I can come back to you soon. I love you too Kazu, I love you so much." Jun claimed his love's soft lips into passionate kiss, and it turned lustful after being drifted from each other. 

It was early in the morning and he will leave in three hours. Jun looks at the beautiful man sleeping soundly beside him. That man maybe the Crown Prince of the kingdom, but he is the love of his life and this view is only exclusively to him. Jun kiss the other forehead softly, but it woke the other, "Jun-chan!" Jun smiled at his love. "Good morning my prince" Jun wished his love with soft peck on the other's lips. The Crown Prince woke up slowly and moved himself to seat on Jun's laps who was sitting with his back leans against their bed headboard. "I want my morning kiss" demand the Crown Prince. "I've gave you just now" Jun replied. The Crown Prince shook his head saying the peck was not enough for him and claimed his husband lips. The morning kiss became hotter when the Crown Prince started to moan and moving on his husband laps. "Aren't you sore, we overdid last night" Jun broke the kiss and asked. Their night was intense, and he don’t want to hurt his loves more, but the Crown Prince keep provoking him by attacking his weak spots till his member reacted and asked for attention. "Pamper me Jun-chan" his voice low and Jun is weak to it. The morning of his departure for his official missions started with the Crown Prince riding him on their bed and during their shower. The Crown Prince insisted on riding him, so he won’t have to spend much energy because Jun need to ride the horse for two nights before reaching his destination.

The mood was totally changed during the breakfast. The Crown Prince was quiet with glistening eyes and didn’t eat a lot. Seeing him being clingy, both his brother and brother in law knew that they had made up. The Crown Prince asked to be excused without finishing his food and Jun followed soon after only to find his husband crying silently on his favourite chaise. Jun's heart pained, he didn’t want to leave but he had no choice. Jun hugged him tightly and the Crown Prince bawling his eyes out in his arms. The mission was dangerous if they were found out although they had taken measures to ensure both Jun's and Takizawa safety if things went wrong. They also wouldn't know how long it will take to finish the mission which also meant, Kazu not sure how long he will be separated from his husband which made his heart pained. 

Jun broke the hugged and took out his gold chain and put it on the Crown Prince. It was the chain which belong to Jun's father which have both Jun's and his mother's photo as its pendant. "Even when I'm far from you, I will always be near your heart." Jun kissed his love forehead who started to calm now. The Crown Prince did the same, he took out his gold chain and put it on Jun but unlike Jun's, the pendant was Crown Prince mother's wedding ring. He had been wearing it since he had his memory but according to his brother, their father, the late king put it on him soon after their mother passed away so it will protect him because their father believed their mum was always looking at them from the heaven. Their father's wedding ring was given to Sho when his brother officially married him. "This chain had been protecting me since I was born now it will protect you when you are away from me. I will be here waiting for you" Jun promised that he will come back soon. They hugged again, not ready to let each other go till both his Majesty and his Highness came personally to say their goodbye and sent him off. 

The king lead Jun to the main palace where Lord Matsumoto Senior, Jun's grandfather and both of his grandmothers were waiting to send him off. Sho stayed in the Crown Prince room to accompany his brother in law who had started to cry again as soon the room's door was closed. It will be harder for Jun to leave if he saw him crying while sending him off in front of the gate. "Don't worry Kazu, he will be fine" Sho tried to calm him again.


	6. Chapter5:  "He was such a disgrace to the Royal Family"

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Flashback chapter of how Crown Prince Kazunari first met Lord Matsumoto Jun 5 years ago.

Its been a month since Jun left for his mission, he missed him so much but he was too busy with his work to dwell on his feeling. While Jun is away, he realized how much Jun had pampered him in his work. He had always complained how Jun always came back late but now he knows it was because of him. He always thought he did an excellent job, but it was Jun who made it easier for him. "I should punish him when he is back" his brother in law looks scary now. "But Shonii.. he just helping me" the Crown Prince tried to defend his husband. "Kazu, this is not helping but spoon-feeding you. His job as an advisor is to advise and help you whenever it's needed, not to make things easy for you. Even I never do that for your brother. You will never learn if he continues to do it for you." He knows what his brother in law said were true and for the past one month, while he was learning to do his job properly from Sho, he realized how hard it is.

Tonight is just another night without Jun but he missed his husband too much especially after he came back from visiting the Matsumoto family. They had shown him Jun's father photos when he was young and it was as if he was looking as his husband young self because both of them really looks like. He looks at the pendant, little Jun smiled brightly beside his mother. "Jun-chan, I missed you so much" the tears fell, his heart ached and the memories of the night when they met for the first time came to his mind. 

5 years ago. 

He was frustrated and he was too tired of his life. He may be the Prince of this kingdom but he was also the jinx of the royal family. Although his family said it was not his fault but everyone else believe it was his fault and the death of his sister in law just proved what the peoples said was right. Now because of him, his young nephew loses his mother as soon as he was born to this world just like him. His family is the only place where he can act spoiled but now he brought the sadness to them. His brother had to sacrifice his love to marry someone else to continue their royal lineage but now because of him, his sister in law died and left his brother alone to take care of their newborn son. Maybe when he left the palace, his family will be free from his jinx. Maybe life will be better for them without him and no one will blame him. 

He sneaked out while everyone busy observing the 7th day of the death using the secret path that Sho and his brother always used to go out to the market but this will be his first time to sneak out alone without his brother and Sho, his brother's advisor, best friend and also his godbrother who took care of him since he was a child. He knows both his brother and Sho love each other but they had to sacrificed their love for the stupid lineage matters which a Crown Prince had to obey. He had heard Sho cried in his room when his brother having his first night with his newly wedded wife. After all the sacrification he just adds on to their sadness. 

He finally reached the market while feeling hungry and went to the stall that he always went to with his brothers but he was scared. He had always shut himself towards the world beyond the palace walls. He may be the spoiled brat in the palace but timid when he was outside the palace. He had never interacted with anyone and his brothers were the one who always ordered the food or bought whatever he wanted in the market. The reason why they always brought him out was to help him break his comfort zone but as of now nothing much change. 

He was too hungry but he was scared to approach anyone although he was sure no one recognized him as the young prince. "Can I help you young man?" A big guy asked him. The guy looked scary and his smirk looks suspicious. "Ah! It's fine he is my friend" A tall and skinny unknown man put his arm on his shoulder but unlike the big guy, he feels comfortable with this man. "Oh my god, I'm glad that I've found you, didn't I tell you to stay by my side. It is dangerous for you to wander around." He just nodded his head to play along till the big guy left them. 

"Thank you for helping me, err?" Kazu asked. The guy happily accepted his handshake "Aiba Masaki, no problem but it is dangerous for you to be here alone if you are not familiar with this area. Are you new here?" The man called Aiba asked. "Not really but I hardly came alone, usually my brothers will come with me". The tall man nodded his head. "I see, so anything that I can help you with?" Aiba asked again, "I'm hungry but I'm afraid to eat alone, so if you don't mind will you accompany me? I have money, I will treat as a thank you for saving me earlier" Aiba laughed when he heard the other stomach growled. "I think I have no choice but to accompany you or else your stomach will be angry with me" both laughed and walked to the restaurant that Kazunari always eat with his brothers. 

Kazunari feels comfortable with Aiba, he is friendly and nice to be with. According to Aiba, he is a frequent traveller to the city while running some errands for a few merchants from all over the Arashi Kingdom, even now he was actually on his way to Kansha City, in Yama Prefecture, far east part of the kingdom when he saw the scary guy talk to Kazunari earlier." what about you?" Aiba asked. The prince tried to think of the best way to reply to him without revealing his real identity. Although Aiba is a nice guy, he doesn't think it was right for him to reveal everything right now. "My name is Kazunari, I'm just a useless son in my family. They have been through a lot of difficulties so I want to try to lead my own life on my own." Aiba looks at him and the package that Kazunari brought along with him. "So you plan to have your own adventure with that little clothes and in this weather?" Kazunari nodded his head. "It won't be easy Kazunari-kun" Aiba ended up paying for their meals although Kazunari is the one who invited him. "It's fine, you will need to spend it wisely." 

He rides the horse with Aiba till the end of the road, Kazunari prefer not to follow Aiba to Kansha City because there are a lot of merchants who always trade with Royal Family who may know him and one of his aunt living next city to Kansha. Chance of him to be known is higher if he follows Aiba. "Are you sure you will be fine alone? I'm sorry I can't send you further, but if u manage to pass this jungle before it turned dark, you should be able to reach the village down the valley. From there you can find your way to the city in the west part of the kingdom. They parted ways when Aiba was convinced he will be fine and Kazunari need to be fast if he want to pass thru the jungle before the day turned dark. Kazunari was scared but as a man he had made the decision so he had to keep the pride and with what he learns from Sho, he should be able to survive. 

Meanwhile, there was a big chaos in the palace once they found out the young prince was missing from his chamber that evening after they had finished the prayers. One of the butler from the young Prince chamber reported to Sho as soon as he received the report from the maid that was in charge to serve him his dinner, according to them, the young prince had told them not to prepare his lunch as he wanted to practise his sword skill since he was not participating in the prayers. However, when the maid went to sent his dinner, there was no answer from him. The maid than called the butler who opens the door and finds the room empty. They tried to find him around his chamber and the whole area of the eastern palace where the chambers of the two princes located but he was not there. Sho ordered all the palace guards to look for him around the big palace and the last place he wants to think of was the young prince sneaked out from Palace using the secret pathway. He knows the young prince was hurt by the minister's words who wanted him to be banished from the palace. They had been blaming him for the Crown Princess death when everyone knows she had problems with her health since the start of her pregnancy. Even the King of Ishitomi kingdom had informed them about his daughter's weak health but they still find reasons to blame the young prince so he will be removed from the candidates in line for the throne.

All the senior Ministers, the King, the Senior Lord Sakurai now gathered in the main hall waiting for updates. "He was such a disgrace to the Royal Family, it's not enough he causes the baby to lose his mother and now he creating trouble for the whole palace. Such a trouble maker didn't deserve to be part of of the family and to seat on the throne." The words of one of the senior minister who is also the king's cousin, was enough to trigger Sho's anger, he doesn't care of he is going to lose his life but he can't forgive that man for slandering the young prince. The old man is the fourth in line to the throne after the young prince and had been trying to remove the young prince from his position. He was holding his sword ready to pull it out when he saw the Crown Prince swing his sword to the old man's neck which made the whole room felt in deep silence. Drops of blood started to fell from the small cuts caused by the tips of the sword. "One more word out from your mouth, you going to lose your head at this moment. It was enough for all the stress you created for him and I'm not going to keep silence anymore, I don't care who you are, one more word, you died and your family will be charged with treason. Mark my words and I will be watching you" the Minister left the hall with his minions, the king who had been quietly watching the whole drama asked everyone to leave the hall, leaving him with the Crown Prince along with their advisors alone. 

"Your Highness, why did you do that? You know they won't keep quiet about this." Sho asked the Crown Prince "because I know if I didn't do it, you will Sho and that will be more worst because I can't afford to lose you" the Crown Prince snapped back made Sho speechless. The Crown Prince hardly gets angry but when he is it will be scary. The head of the palace guard came and confirmed the Crown Prince was not in the palace ground. "Fine, I will go to find him myself" Sho wanted to leave but was stopped by the Crown Prince. "Get Takizawa here right now" the Crown Prince ordered. "I can go by myself?" Sho insisted. "You are not going anywhere by yourself Sho, not in the condition you are now" The Crown Prince command just made Sho more furious. "What the hell Satoshi! You know Kazu had never left the palace alone and I'm the best person who knows where he will go" Sho snapped back forgetting the king and his father who were still there with them. Due to his anger, he forgot about their status, for him, the one in front of him now is just his ex-boyfriend. "Sho mind your manners" His father reminded him which made him realised his mistake. Sho wanted to apologise for his rudeness but they were interrupted by Takizawa voice. 

Takizawa is the highest-ranking guard in the palace. "Bring two of your best guard to look for Prince Kazunari at the market and it's a nearby jungle. Proceed cautiously because of the young prince is not comfortable with strangers. Make sure you bring him back or prepare to surrender your head." Takizawa bowed his head and left the hall as soon as possible to execute the Crown Prince order. "Father, Lord Sakurai, Please excuse us, I need to speak to Sho alone. We will be at my chamber if you need us" The Crown Prince pulled his advisor to follow him once he was allowed to leave. 

"Your Majesty, I'm sorry for my son rudeness earlier." Lord Sakurai Senior bowed politely in front of the King. He had always reminded his son about their status to avoid these incidents but today Sho had failed him. "It's fine Sakurai, I know Sho-kun didn't mean any harms and no one else was here. I'm happy to see how much they love the young prince." The king is aware, compared to him the two young men are the ones who raised his youngest son. As his father and the King, he was always too busy with his responsibility as the King of the kingdom to care much about his young son. He had always left most of the care to Sho and Satoshi along with the maids and butlers till both are old enough to take care of Kazu on their own. He hated to admit it but it was the truth that he is an incompetent father to Kazu which caused such a big gap between them when he was supposed to give him more affection especially when he had never felt his mother's love. The gap is too big that he didn't even realise how stressful it was for his youngest son to be called the curse of the royal family, that made him ran away from the Palace. He hopes his youngest son will be fine or else he won't be able to forgive himself for being a useless father.


End file.
